Graboplast Zrt.

Graboplast Zrt. is a Hungarian-owned flooring and parquet manufacturer headquartered in Győr, Hungary. The company traces its origins to 1905, when Miksa Grab and his sons founded a factory for the production of dowlas, wax cloth and linoleum flooring. Over more than a century it evolved from a textile and artificial-leather producer into a specialist in indoor floor coverings for residential and commercial use. Its products are found in more than 100 countries, serving healthcare, education, retail, hospitality, homes, workplaces, sports halls, entertainment venues, cultural institutions, buses and trains. The company operates four factories across three sites in Hungary — Győr, Tatabánya and Kecskemét — and generates more than 90 percent of its revenue from export markets. Its product range includes LVT, SPC, parquet floors, heterogeneous general-use floors, heterogeneous acoustic floors, wallcoverings and accessories. Under the Grabo 1905 brand it markets dedicated lines for residential, commercial, sports, entertainment, mobility and bespoke applications, with references ranging from the London Olympics to a Robbie Williams concert and Harry Potter shooting. Graboplast was formerly listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange, with the State Privatization Agency selling its 58 percent stake to domestic and international investors in the mid-1990s. Today it is a Hungarian-owned private company. Its long history includes wartime production, nationalization, the adoption of the Graboplast name in 1969, and a market-oriented restructuring in the early 1990s.

Graboplast Zrt. began in 1905 when Miksa Grab and his sons founded a factory in Győr for the manufacture of dowlas, wax cloth and linoleum flooring. The factory buildings were completed in 1905 and partial trial production began; full equipment arrived in 1906 and all production lines were operational from the second half of that year. In 1907, one year after production started, the company also began manufacturing artificial leather. By the early 1910s, the main profile had shifted to nitrocellulose leather, and the owners sold the linseed-oil-based manufacturing technology with exclusive production rights to Ede Keffel, an entrepreneur from Győr. During World War I the factory played a significant role in war preparations, replacing traditional products with tent canvases, wagon covers, military backpacks, chemical protection suits and raincoats, and was declared a war factory. In the 1920s, after serving wartime needs, production turned to the needs of the bourgeoisie. To secure raw materials, Grab M. and Sons, together with Győr merchants Arnold Teltsch and István Rudó, established Grab Textile Industry Ltd. In 1936, one of the founders, Emanuel Grab, passed away. The economic crisis of the 1930s weakened the Czech parent company and the business gradually emptied; from the mid-1930s the two shareholders, wholesalers Teltsch Arnold and Rudó István, saved the company from liquidation. From 1938 the plants were gradually converted to war production, and from September 1939 a military commander was placed at the head of the factory. During World War II various cotton goods and nitro artificial leathers were produced. At the end of 1941 more than 500 workers produced molino, poplin, zephyr and flannel fabrics in the cotton weaving factory, and various artificial leathers, shoe linings, artificial leathers for convertible car bodies and bookbinding canvases in the grabiol plants. On 12 July 1944 the factory was hit by a bombing raid, though no irreplaceable loss was suffered. Between 1945 and 1950 the company operated under the name First Hungarian Wax Cloth and Artificial Leather Factory. After the 1947 nationalization of the Hungarian Discount Bank, which held 50 percent of Graboplast, the state became co-owner. The following year, plants employing more than a hundred workers were nationalized, and the sign "The factory is ours!" appeared above the entrance of the Grab factories. In October 1950 the former Grab factories were merged and the company received the name Győri Pamutszövő és Műbőrgyár (Győr Cotton Weaving and Artificial Leather Factory). After the 1956 revolution, production restarted on a few machines at the end of November, though continuous operation was hindered by a shortage of raw materials. Nándor Jankovich was appointed factory director in April 1957, and the management began planning a modern artificial leather factory. The first major investment came in 1958, when a 30-metre-long artificial leather production line arrived from the Federal Republic of Germany. Production of PVC-based artificial leathers began, and in 1961 floor covering production also started. Artificial leather became the focus of the long-term corporate strategy. In 1969 the company took the name Graboplast and registered the Graboplast brand. Over a two-year development, among other things, a new artificial leather and finishing plant was established. At the end of 1968 it opened its first sample shop in Győr, followed by stores in Budapest. In the 1970s and 1980s, after Fiat, Volkswagen and Renault also became Graboplast customers. The company also supplied Ford and Peugeot. Graboplast artificial leather was used in the Dacia, Lada, Polski Fiat and Skoda for interior covering and seat upholstery. Despite the worsening economic situation, the company did not give up developing social facilities: it built a factory restaurant capable of feeding a thousand workers, a thirty-apartment corporate condominium, and a cultural hall with a capacity of 500 people. In 1975 the company expanded with a technical confectioning department, where inflatable storage tents used in industry and agriculture were made. By the end of the 1980s the company again found itself in a difficult economic situation, and the then 37-year-old Péter Jancsó became the new chief executive. Péter Jancsó launched the reorganization of Graboplast according to market economy rules. With the help of Graboplast's financial partner, Creditanstalt Bankverein, he initiated a search for a financial investor for 30 percent of the company's assets. Due to the foreign ownership share, the company also obtained several years of tax exemption. Graboplast's managers did not want a professional investor, trusting in their own professional knowledge, accumulated expertise and experience. The Austrian consulting firm Czipin und Partner audited the company, and significant changes followed. Above all, the financial area was transformed, but the creation of a new structure affected the entire organization. Production areas were also reorganized. By early 1992 the workforce had been reduced by seven hundred to one thousand two hundred, and the product structure had adapted to market needs. At the end of 1993 the State Privatization Agency (ÁVÜ) decided to sell its remaining 58 percent stake to domestic and international private and institutional investors through the Budapest Stock Exchange. In 1994 Graboplast had a research and development base unique in the industry. As the first step of acquisitions, in 1995 the company acquired 90 percent ownership of the Sopron Carpet Factory. The next step was majority stakes in the Győr fine textiles producer Uniontext Kft. and the Keszta-Dunawall Kft. wallpaper factory in Kesztölc. Today Graboplast is a Hungarian-owned private company with four factories in Győr, Tatabánya and Kecskemét, exporting to more than 100 countries.

• 1995

  Graboplast acquires 90 percent ownership of the Sopron Carpet Factory.

• 1993

  At the end of the year the State Privatization Agency decides to sell its remaining 58 percent stake through the Budapest Stock Exchange.

• 1975

  The company expands with a technical confectioning department for inflatable storage tents.

• 1969

  The company takes the name Graboplast and registers the Graboplast brand.

• 1961

  Floor covering production begins.

• 1958

  The first major investment: a 30-metre-long artificial leather production line arrives from the Federal Republic of Germany.

• 1950

  In October the former Grab factories are merged and the company receives the name Győri Pamutszövő és Műbőrgyár.

• 1944

  On 12 July the factory is hit by a bombing raid, though no irreplaceable loss is suffered.

• 1936

  One of the factory's founders, Emanuel Grab, passes away.

• 1923

  Grab M. and Sons, together with Győr merchants Arnold Teltsch and István Rudó, establishes Grab Textile Industry Ltd.

• 1914

  The factory plays a significant role in war preparations and is declared a war factory.

• 1912

  By the early 1910s, the main profile became nitrocellulose leather; the owners sell the linseed oil-based manufacturing technology with exclusive production rights to Ede Keffel.

• 1907

  One year after starting production, the company also begins manufacturing artificial leather.

• 1906

  The full equipment arrives and is put into operation; all production equipment is operational from the second half of the year.

• 1905

  The factory buildings are completed, and partial trial production begins.

• 1903

  Miksa Grab and his sons founded the factory for the manufacturing of dowlas, wax cloth and linoleum flooring.

Professional craftsmanship in flooring and covering since 1905, combining artisan mindset with industrial technology for real-world use.

• LVT flooring

• SPC flooring

• Parquet floors

• Heterogeneous general use floors

• Heterogeneous acoustic floors

• Wallcovering

• Accessories

• Sports floors and sports parquet

• Show floors

• Vehicle industry floors

• Vinyl flooring in rolls

• Vinyl flooring in tiles

1. 1Home - Grabo1905grabo1905.com
2. 2Our story - Grabo1905grabo1905.com
3. 3Unsere Geschichte - Grabo1905grabo1905.com
4. 4Graboplast Zrt. - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5Graboplast Zrt. - Hungarian Wikipediahu.wikipedia.org